Wisdom on E&E | 格物

Investigating Things to Attain Wisdom: The Modern Echo of an Ancient Philosophy

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 18:00:00 +0000

Ge wu zhi zhi (格物致知) — four characters that have shaped Chinese intellectual history for a thousand years. They appear in the opening chapter of the Great Learning (Daxue), a Confucian classic, as the first step on the path to moral and social harmony: “The ancients who wished to illustrate virtue throughout the world first ordered their states. Wishing to order their states, they first regulated their families. Wishing to regulate their families, they first cultivated themselves. Wishing to cultivate themselves, they first rectified their hearts. Wishing to rectify their hearts, they first made their wills sincere. Wishing to make their wills sincere, they first extended their knowledge. The extension of knowledge lies in the investigation of things.”

The Eight Trigrams: Ancient Symbols of a Living Cosmos

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 18:00:00 +0000

They appear everywhere in Chinese culture — on the flag of South Korea, in the corners of Taoist temples, on the robes of ancient sages. The Eight Trigrams (bagua) are among the oldest and most powerful symbols in Chinese civilization: eight combinations of three lines, broken or unbroken, representing the fundamental forces of the cosmos.

The Structure
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Each trigram consists of three lines (yao). An unbroken line represents yang — the active, masculine, creative principle. A broken line represents yin — the receptive, feminine, nurturing principle. The eight possible combinations of three lines correspond to eight natural phenomena:

The Silent Teacher: What Tai Chi Teaches Us About Change

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 18:00:00 +0000

The name Tai Chi (taiji) means Supreme Ultimate — the philosophical concept of the primordial unity from which all things emerge. In the founding text of Chinese cosmology, before there was anything, there was wuji — the limitless void. From wuji came taiji, the supreme polarity, which gave birth to yin and yang. From yin and yang came everything else.

Wu Wei (无为): The Daoist Secret to Achieving More by Doing Less

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 18:00:00 +0000

The phrase appears throughout the Daodejing, the foundational text of Daoism: wei wu wei — act without acting. For two and a half millennia, this deceptively simple concept has been one of Chinese philosophy’s most enduring and most misunderstood ideas.

What Wu Wei Is Not
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Wu wei is not laziness. It is not passivity. It is not sitting on the couch waiting for things to happen. The Daoist sages who wrote about wu wei were not advocating for inaction but for a particular kind of action — action that is so perfectly aligned with circumstances that it feels effortless.

Confucius and the Philosophy of Harmony

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Confucius (孔子, Kongzi, 551–479 BCE) is arguably the most influential philosopher in human history. For over two and a half millennia, his teachings on ethics, governance, education, and human relationships have shaped not just China but the entire East Asian cultural sphere — from Japan and Korea to Vietnam and Singapore.

The Life of Confucius
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Confucius was born in the state of Lu (modern-day Shandong province) during the Spring and Autumn period, an era of political chaos and moral decline. The son of an elderly warrior who died when Confucius was three, he grew up in poverty but dedicated himself to learning. He studied the ancient rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics — the “Six Arts” of the cultivated gentleman.

Wisdom on E&E | 格物

Investigating Things to Attain Wisdom: The Modern Echo of an Ancient Philosophy

The Eight Trigrams: Ancient Symbols of a Living Cosmos

The Structure #

The Silent Teacher: What Tai Chi Teaches Us About Change

Wu Wei (无为): The Daoist Secret to Achieving More by Doing Less

What Wu Wei Is Not #

Confucius and the Philosophy of Harmony

The Life of Confucius #

The Structure
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What Wu Wei Is Not
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The Life of Confucius
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